Arvind Padhee replaced as Chief Administrator of Jagannath Temple

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 12:18:05 IST

Bhubaneswar, Oct 28: Senior IAS officer Arvind Padhee was removed from his duties as the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). He was replaced by Bikash Chandra Mohapatra, who is currently serving as the RDC (Southern).

According to a notification published by the General Administration department of the Odisha government, Arvind Padhee has been relieved from his duties as the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration.

The move comes as a surprise for many. The decision might have been taken after reviewing his performance during Rath Yatra when he had to face severe criticism from Puri Shankaracharya and also others for allegedly supporting the sevayats on the issue of climbing the chariots and touching the Lords during Rath Yatra.

Padhee is currently commissioner-cum-secretary , Tourism and Culture and managing director of Odisha Tourism and Development Corporation (OTDC).